


Sunny-Side Up

by aDarkerKnight



Category: DCU - Comicverse
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-07-16
Updated: 2008-07-16
Packaged: 2017-10-21 23:23:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/231011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aDarkerKnight/pseuds/aDarkerKnight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The up sides and down sides of an afternoon in the sun.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sunny-Side Up

**Author's Note:**

> For [](http://bradygirl-12.livejournal.com/profile)[**bradygirl_12**](http://bradygirl-12.livejournal.com/)'s [2008 DCU Endless Summer Challenge](http://bradygirl-12.livejournal.com/227152.html)
> 
> With thanks to Jessi for her precious help and support. *hugs you*

Clark suddenly felt a chill as a shadow cast over him. For a moment, he hoped that it might be Dick, looking for someone to play frisbee or football with, but the boy would surely have spoken already - there was only one person here who would just stand and say nothing on purpose. Clark wondered how long Bruce would remain there, if he pretended to be asleep.

It didn't take very long for him to get his answer... Bruce did not speak, however. He merely cleared his throat.

Clark lifted open a single eyelid, just enough to see him, and then he closed it again. "You're blocking the sun," he complained with a lazy wave of the hand.

"Yes, well, that would be the point," Bruce answered simply, making no attempt to move out of the way.

Clark opened his eyes, bringing his hand up to shield them from the light. "I'm sorry," he sneered, "I hadn't realized it was spoilsport o'clock already."

"I think you forgot something," Bruce stated flatly, disregarding Clark's sarcastic remark.

"Oh?" Clark asked, feigning ignorance. "Let's see, I've got -" he raised a hand, enumerating the items with his fingers "- my sunglasses, a beach towel, and a glass of lemonade. Nope, I'm not missing anything."

"I beg to differ."

"You would," Clark mumbled under his breath as he closed his eyes and attempted to get comfortable in the lounge chair again.

"Here." Bruce pulled a bottle of sunblock out from the back pocket of his bermuda shorts and dropped it, albeit gently, on Clark's stomach.

Clark jumped in surprise. "I am _not_ going to put on a sunscreen lotion!" he complained, grabbing the bottle and throwing it back to Bruce.

"Clark, if you're not more careful, you'll get a sunburn," Bruce told him, in as even a tone as he could manage. He hated having to remind Clark of the fact that his powers had gone missing, but what else should he do, when Clark was being so careless?

"Would you quit treating me like I was a child?" Clark let out a frustrated sigh "I can take care of myself just fine!"

Bruce raised an eyebrow from behind his designer sunglasses. "Your mother would disagree..."

"You called my mother?" Clark barked, outraged, his eyes narrow in accusation.

"Actually, no." Bruce gave him a self-satisfied smile. "She called me. She was worried that perhaps her son wasn't being very reasonable. I just happen to share her concerns. Very smart woman, your mother, you know."

Clark rolled his eyes. "Right, and by being reasonable, you mean I should spend all my time indoors? Or better yet, let's just go back to Gotham and I'll spend the rest of the summer holed up in the Batcave. Would that make you happier?"

"Well now you're just being childish." Bruce held up the bottle, showing Clark the label on the front. "This has an SPF of 10, it's not even very high, so I really don't see why you're making such a fuss."

"That's not the point," Clark countered, still very frustrated. "I'm like a solar battery: the more sun I get, the faster my powers will return. Except, if I follow your logic and prevent the sun from even being absorbed by my system, they never will. I might as well just burn the suit and the cape right now..."

Bruce drew a long, calming breath before he spoke. The last thing he wanted was for this conversation to turn into a shouting match. "Protecting your skin doesn't mean you're getting zero effects from the rays of the sun," he explained finally. "Even if your skin processes the sun differently from how a normal human's would, the point is that you're still vulnerable to its effect at the moment - and you're well on your way to turning lobster-red, as a matter of fact."

"Am not." Clark took a quick look at his arm and shook his head. "There's barely even a tan."

"You won't really see it until you get out from under the sun."

Again, Clark rolled his eyes. "I suppose that spending your days in that dark cave of yours makes you an expert on sunlight, now?"

"And you know everything there is to know about the effect of UV rays, perhaps?" Bruce challenged, handing the sunblock back to Clark. "Just humor me. Please?"

"Fine, fine."

Clark reluctantly squeezed some of the bottle's contents out into the palm of his hand and started applying the lotion on his skin.

"What?" he asked after a moment, seeing as though Bruce still stood there, arms crossed in front of his chest. "Are you going to stand there until I'm done?"

"Of course."

"Geez, whatever happened to trust?" Clark mumbled under his breath as he went on spreading lotion all over his skin.

"It isn't a question of trust," Bruce replied, his tone now much gentler. "I just figured you'd need a hand getting some on your back."

"Oh. Guess you have a point," Clark said, mollified, and he squirted some of the bottle's content in the palm of Bruce's outstretched hand.

After a minute of what might have passed for more of a massage than merely application of sunblock, Clark finally spoke. "So, how often am I supposed to put some more of this on?"

Bruce frowned, somewhat suspicious of Clark's comment. "Every few hours. I don't know. Just read the label."

"Mmmm." Clark turned the bottle and quickly read through the fine print. Then he set the bottle on the ground and got up. "How 'bout we go for a swim?" he asked, a playful grin on his face.

Bruce replied simply with one of his patented bat-glares.

"See, the label says that the lotion isn't waterproof..." Clark explained, not the least bit intimidated.

"Fine. Be that way," Bruce shot him, angrily. "But don't come complaining when you've got the world's worst sunburn and--"

"Oh, calm down. You can give me a hand putting lotion back on afterwards. And... you know... every half hour after that."

"Half hour?" Bruce echoed, perplexed.

"Yeah, I think I'm going to need a lot of it," Clark explained with a sly smile. "And often. Especially on my back."

  
~ The End ~


End file.
